Bill-de la Peña and Wall will protect the environment

A wise person once said that the only thing constant is change.

Until very recently, there was a small clapboard building on Thousand Oaks Boulevard where stagecoaches used to stop a century ago. In that quaint white building, there used to be the best little flower shop in town. That florist is gone now and so is the building--there's a used car lot there currently.

Until a few years ago, there was an oak grove you could hike to with your kids. There was an old fire ring on the way down to it, where long-ago Boy Scouts made s'mores and told spooky stories. That fire ring is gone and the trail to the grove is fenced off-there's a flood control basin there now.

Until about a dozen years ago, my home was peaceful and quiet. You could hear the faint whisper of a car or two from the intersection down the hill. The four-way stop, where people used to patiently yield and wave to neighbors, has been improved with traffic lights and left-turn-only lanes to accommodate the increased traffic.

Not all change is bad, obviously, and nothing can be done to turn back time.

Looking forward, what kind of change do we want for this place we call home? Do we want to preserve our semi-rural heritage or replace it with automobile dealerships? Do we want to protect our natural environment or destroy it to allow more development? Do we want to maintain our property's value or ruin our air and health with more and even more traffic?

Councilmember Claudia Billde la Peña and planning commission chair Janet Wall see the value in preserving our quality of life.

The vision they have for keeping Thousand Oaks special is in complete contrast to incumbents Andy Fox and Dennis Gillette, who want to develop high-rise buildings along T.O. Boulevard. Fox approved the plan that destroyed the oak grove.

Claudia and Janet are our best choice for City Council and will keep Thousand Oaks a wonderful place to live. Nora AidukasThousand Oaks